“Potty Training…” (by Mel McGuire)

I hesitate to write this. It may seem obvious where this is going to go, but I must follow the leading…

My daughter, shortly after her second birthday, began her formal potty training. Now understand, she wore diapers, and occasionally she would flash by in the midst of her playful activity and leave you with a whiff of something…well…unclean.

I would ask her, “Do you have a diaper?” or more to the point, “What is in your diaper?” More often than not, her response was a form of “no” or “nothing”, and she continued with her important activity.

She would flash by again, and I’d say, “Come here and let me check your diaper” or “Is that you I smell?” This too is met with a ”no”, as she continued to odorize the room.

At this point actions spoke louder than words, and we would find ourselves at the changing table. I usually gave her a speech about telling me when she had soiled her diaper, so I could change it immediately and she could get back to playing.

This “speech” had yet to bear any fruit, and so the potty training had begun. She needed to learn to recognize when she was going to “undergo a movement” and do something to avoid messing up her clothes.

So it is in our walk with God. How many times have we “messed up” and soiled ourselves (or others), and ignored the Lord when He attempts to clean us up? How many times have we run from Him instead of to Him, when we needed to be cleansed?

How long have we continued in our “important” activities while He waits for us to come close enough so He can direct us to the “changing table”? I know I have been guilty of needing to be potty trained.

If we take a moment and consider ourselves, our habits, weaknesses and flaws, we can determine what is going on in and around us that leads us to soil ourselves. Then we can take preventive actions and avoid the “big clean up”.

Have you ever been around someone who you can just “tell” has soiled themselves? I don’t mean literally (I hope I don’t mean literally!), but spiritually, they just aren’t right.

It is so obvious every time they pass by, but they act like nothing is wrong! (I John 1:8) They just keep on doing whatever it is they were doing and letting that stuff marinate! They need to be potty trained!

We have all done it! Just like little kids who run around with “heavy drawers”, we have carried on with “mess” in our lives for too long. Unforgiveness, bitterness, hatred, anger, envy, strife, lust, you name it…it’ll mess up your pants!

And the worst of it is this, the little stain or odor others notice, is NOTHING compared to the reality that lies underneath. And it is that mess that must be cleaned up!

As a child learns the signs and circumstances of “upcoming events” and takes the proper actions, they will have fewer accidents and will live a more “pure” life. They will experience fewer interruptions in their daily activity for major cleanups and wardrobe changes.

We too can live in a greater degree of purity and cleanliness. God is waiting to cleanse us. He wants us to stay clean. Do some spiritual potty training and avoid another big mess!

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness…” I John 1:9

“Trailer…” (by Mel McGuire)

If a picture is worth a thousand words, picture this: A new high performance car hitched to a trailer, on which sits the older version of the new car. Do you think that new car will be able to realize or maximize the performance or efficiency of its design while towing the old car behind it?

I visited my brother recently and he has a fishing boat that he tows behind his SUV. When driving without the trailer and boat, the SUV is a decent performer and has no trouble keeping up with traffic and fitting into normal parking spaces. However, as soon as the boat is in tow, the focus of the driver must change. Not only is the performance of the SUV affected, the SUV can only safely go where the trailer will fit. So, merging, turning, stopping, and maneuverability are all determined by what is behind the SUV.

I heard a message not long after that… about living our lives while being overly concerned about our past. This image of the trailer is what God gave me as an illustration of this principle. God tells us if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation, and the old (creation) has passed away. And yet too often we still try to keep both lives functional and productive.

When we are constantly thinking about, and relating to our past, we are like that SUV towing that boat on a trailer. We have to slow down and most of our decisions are going to be based on the past (that which is behind us) and how it fits into our current situation. We MUST learn to leave the boat in the water, unhitch the trailer, and drive away without them, so we can be free to experience all the performance, efficiency, and liberty that God intended for our new man.

Using the image of the new car towing the old car, we can see how pointless it is to have a newer better performing vehicle and not experience it because we can’t let go of the old version. In fact, the new car towing the old car won’t perform as well as the old car did! Living a double life, not being single minded, focused on the things of God, can often leave us feeling weighed down, unsatisfied, and less effective than before we came to Christ.

God has promised us better. In order to make room for better, we have to get rid of the old, the past, and the worse. Let it go. The blood does not just cover; it removes our old man, our sins. Let it go. Unhitch the trailer and leave your past behind you. Drive, press towards the mark for the prize of the high calling. Onward and upward, move further from sin, your old man, and your old ways, and closer to God, your new man and His ways.

We all have something sitting on a trailer waiting to be towed somewhere, longing to be put back into use. God gave you a new high performance life…LIVE IT! Stop towing and start growing!